They sat at the edge of the dock, feet hung precariously into the ocean below. The bottle of vodka lay clutched between her slim thighs, arefully protected from the murky waters of the Atlantic. He reached across her lap and removed the bottle, screwing off the cap and raising it to his lips, allowing the vile liquid to sear as it went down his throat. The familiar feeling of warmth washed over him as the alcohol took effect, his fingers and toes tingling with sensation.

She took the bottle back and poured a sizable amount in her mouth, not bothering to let it touch her tongue. She liked the comfort it gave her, if only it had a better taste and no hang-overs.

She twisted the top back on and placed it in between her knees, kicking her feet and watching as the ripples spread out into the muddy water where their eyes ould no longer reach. He as well watched them. In a sudden movement she stood up, removing her feet and staring wide-eyed into the icy water.

"Emma?" Reese asked, removing his own feet and jumping up beside her. She ontinued to stare in awe at the ocean. Gently, he reached over and removed the bottle from her hand, placaing it on the dock and inserting his own hand where the bottle had been. Giving her fingers a reassuring squeeze, her icy blue eyes came up and met his, staring him down with an emotion he couldn't decipher. Her eyes were so cold, so distant, so uncharacteristiclly hard, he felt afraid since the first time since meeting her two years before. She continued to stare at him in silence, searching deep into the dark wells of brown that were his eyes. Finally, her gaze adverted to the wood of the dock and she dropped his hand, her arms crossing protectivly across her chest.

Emma took a step away from him, her arms still crossed and her eyes staring into the deep, seemingly endless ocean. Reese closed the gap she had made and reached out his hand, placing it gingerly on the back of her neck. When she didn't pull away, he moved closer still and pulled her into the warmth of his chest, resting her head on his shoulder and allowing his arms to slip around her waist, holding her close and resting his head on top of hers. He could smell the scent of her shampoo, lilac, as he breathed in, inhaling the scent he loved more than anything.

She fidgited in his arms, turning into a more comfortable position. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, gripping onto his shirt to fight the tears that were threatening to spill over her eyes.

"Em?" Reese coaxed, rubbing his hand in small circles on her back as she gripped onto him tighter.

"Emma?" Reese asked again when she didn't answer. He decided to talk anyways, even though she wasn't responding to what he was saying. "Just beause your dad's back doesn't mean a thing. I know that you hate him more than anything but you have me. And any time you need to get away from him you know where you can go." He knew it sounded cheesy but he didn't care. Right now, the most important thing to him was making sure that Emma felt safe, that she knew that he was going to stand by her through everything.

"I don't even know why he's back," Emma replied, her voice a scared whisper. "I took off before he ould explain. I left the detective and the doctor behind. I just took off. I called you and came here," she whispered into his neck, her eyes closed as she sank deep into thought.

"Em," Reese asked, saying her name comfortingly but not knowing what else to say to her.

She pulled away and wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve, running her fingers through her long blonde hair, sighing deeply and giving Reese what she hoped to be a reassuring smile. Emma took a step towards the edge, her toes hanging off the wood, rocking back and forth. Reese watched in what seemed like slow motion as her balance slipped and she fell forward into the water. In an attempt to brace her fall, Emma lent backwards and as a result smacked her head on the side of the dock, falling and slipping into the depths of the deep blue. Reese screamed as she went under, getting down on his hands and knees and fishing around the water with his hand, waiting with his breath held for her to break the surface.

Panic settled in as the ten second mark she had been under passed and in his fright he jumped in after her, opening his eyes under the water and searching for her.

20 seconds

He came up and got a breath, his heart hammering painfully against his chest as he looked frantically around. Reese dove back under, hands and feet flipping furiously under the water to propell himself forward.

30 seconds

There was still no sign of her. He dove father down, his ears pressing painfully with the sudden change in depth, eyes scanning the same water he had seconds before.

40 seconds

He had stayed down longer than he should have and as a result his lungs were deflating. His head broke the surface and he gulped in the miraciously fresh air, filling his lungs with air and going back under.

50 seconds

She had been under almost a minute, the most agaonisingly slow minute Reese had ever exprienced. Still, he searched with no avail. He knew humans could only survive three minutes without air. Time was running out.

60 seconds

He finally spotted her, floating in the middle of the water facing down. He swam furiously over to her and grabbed her tiny body, holding it tightly and kicking them to the surface. He turned and looked at her face in the comfort of the fresh air his mind had been screaming for. Her eyes were closed and when he removed his hand from the back of her head, it was covered in watered down blood. Still holding onto her tightly, he swam back to dock and hauled her wet body onto the wood before pulling himself up.

"Emma! Emma come on don't do this to me!" Reese yelled to no one as he leaned over her lifeless body. He plugged her nose and tilted her head back, breathing into her mouth and then moving away, pressing down on her stomach three times. He repeated the process, trying to breathe the life back into her.

Woody and Jordan came running down the sloping hill to the dock, observing the strange scene in front of them. Emma was lying on the wood, her jean skirt dripping with ocean water, blonde hair soping wet, plain black t-shirt clingingly to her tiny body, tanned legs shining with water. Reese was leaning over her, attempting to give her CPR. They finished the remaining distance to the dock, both their faces splayed in shock.

Woody and Jordan knelt down next to them, not yet asking what had happened. Reese pressed on her stomach one last time and Emma's eyes opened in shock. She turned on her side, coughing, and spit the water from her mouth, gasping to get air into her lungs. Woody put his hands under her arms and hauled her into a sitting position, allowing her to lean against him so she could breathe easier.

Reese leaned over her and placed his hand on the side of her face, her features errupting into a thankful smile. Emma pulled away from Woody and threw her arms around Reese's neck, Reese planting kisses all over her cheek. Woody and Jordan looked around, scared expressions plastering their faces.

"What the hell happened here guys?" Woody asked as Reese helped a shivering Emma to her feet.

"She fell in," Reese answered as her wrapped his soaking arms around her shivering body in an attempt to warm her up.

Jordan surveryed the scene, looking from Reese and Emma's shivering bodies huddled together, to the half empty vodka bottle on the floor of the dock. It didn't take a guiness to figure out what happened.